UNMASKED
by the-rampion
Summary: Cinder and Kai are both super heroes, protecting the city by night and being normal, awkward high school students. Neither one of them knows each other without the masks. Will Cinder and Kai's identities be kept secret? Or will they be unmasked?
1. Chapter 1

Foot steps pounded against the ground as Cinder ran, feet pulling her towards the yelling and screaming the crowd was producing. Pearl's voice echoed in the back of her head, driving her farther down the pathway.

 _As if you could ever be special._

Her brain screamed in frustration as she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Now was not the time to be getting worked up over petty sibling bickering. Now was the time to save the city.

"Iko!" She called, waiting for her flying friend to catch up with her. "Let's go!"

"Got it!" Iko's cheerful voice rang out as she spun around Cinder, transforming into a tool that would help the normal girl glamor herself into _The Mechanic._ Cinder prepared herself for the chilling sensation that would begin to wrap around her body, turning her into someone else. She had grown used to the transformation, welcomed it even. After a year of letting the glamor change her appearance and give her the extra boost of power she would need in order to win the battle, she'd grown very attached to the ability.

She felt herself will the silver mask to mold into her skin, making it impossible for it to fall off when the action started. She willed the skin tight black suit to form around her arms, covering all of her cyborg parts except the hand she would later use for protection against the enemy. Her belt appeared around her waist, along with the many tools that were housed in the silver belt strap. When she deemed herself unrecognizable, allowing Iko to fiddle with her pony tail until it was just right, she sped into the large crowd. There was fire ablaze in her eyes until they landed on someone dressed head to toe in black, save for the spiked crown that rested on his head and the mask that draped across his face, both of which were colored to match a gold tone.

"Hey!" He called when he spotted her. "I thought we agreed black was _my_ color!" He ran towards her, effectively dodging a ball of fire as it passed, singeing the hair of a nearby child. Cinder cringed, staring at the child's burning hair as a nearby woman—her mother?—attempted to put it out. She knew she should have been here earlier, should have been prepared, but recent events had kept her from doing so. "I mean, it looks good on you, but then again anything would so-"

"Save it, _Princy,_ we've got to get this situation under control." Cinder didn't have time to chastise _The Prince_ for his lousy attempt at flirting, which Cinder found ridiculously unnecessary, nor did she have time to be amazed at how superbly she was handling the chaotic mess that was unfolding at her feet. It was something about the mask, the way it kept everyone from knowing who she truly was, that made her more heroic under it.

"I could not agree with you more!" Cinder prepared herself to be flung up into the air as she put her foot in Prince's palm. "Ready?" He asked when he got his grip steady and firm around her boot.

"Just throw me already!" Cinder cried, afraid they were loosing too much time.

"Whatever you say, but when you get burned to a crisp don't call me for help!" Before the words fully escaped his mouth Cinder was flying into the air, propelled only by Prince's sheer strength. Once she was high enough in the air, she whipped out her grappling hook that was securely stationed inside her belt and attached herself to the nearest wall. She flew through the air, thankful that she had remembered the meld the mask this time, otherwise the small identity protector would have been long lost in the haze of wind that surrounded her.

She looked down at the ground, hoping to find Prince, but found the streets empty.

 _Good_ , she thought. _He's evacuated everyone._ Cinder smiled at the thought that everyone who could escape was now safe. She made a mental note to thank Prince later.

When she reached the burning building, Prince was already waiting for her at the closest building next to it, boomerang in hand and leaning on the wall trying to catch his breath. When he spotted her his eyes lit up and he positioned himself so that he could help her up onto the building. This was the way they worked, as a team.

"Ready to save some lives, princess?" Prince said as Cinder began to untangle her grappling hook so she could cast it again to gain entry into the house. He would stay on the roof, protecting any outside threats from making their way inside, while Cinder searched the building for survivors.

"Don't call me princess," Cinder said, jumping off the roof and flying, headfirst, into the fire.

 **6 HOURS EARLIER**

"I just can't believe that _The Mechanic_ , the bravest person I've ever known to exist, goes to our school." Cress said, biting off one of her nails. She sucked on the cuticle as it began to bleed but did not pause, talking a little louder now. "I mean, just imagine! My bio partner could be saving _my grades_ by day and the city by night!"

Cinder laughed at how optimistic Cress was, then laughed again remembering how much Cress relied on her bio partner to maintain an A in that class.

"I'm your bio partner, stupid." Cinder said, hoping that Cress would never figure out that her bio partner _was_ indeed saving the city nightly.

"I'm not saying you're _The Mechanic,_ I mean, obviously you're not. But how cool is the possibility that the savior of the city is running around on _our school grounds_!" Cress began to bite at another one of her fingernails, exciting herself too much to even notice that she was beginning to draw more blood.

Slapping Cress's hand away from her mouth, Cinder stared at her friend in amusement. If only she knew. If only Cinder could tell her who _The Mechanic_ really was. She was sure Cress would be in a fit, rolling on the floor in hysteria. _Her best friend!_ Cress would say. _The Mechanic!_

But Cinder knew the rules, how could she forget after hours of Iko stuffing the rules down her throat. _A female savior is only chosen once in each century. It is her responsibility to keep her identity a secret from everyone, even the people closest to her._

Iko, the only person who truly knew about Cinder's double life, was a source of power that each savior was given once they'd come of age. Iko had a very bubbly personality that Cinder had, had a hard time dealing with at first, but now, Iko was undoubtedly one of Cinder's closest friends. However pathetic that must sound.

Cinder wasn't even sure if she wanted to tell Cress anyways. Nothing, nothing, would have been worse than Cress, her best friend since kindergarten, treating her like she was someone else just because of a stupid mask. So she kept her secret to herself, letting the size of it weigh her down with every step she took.

"How do you know they even go to our school?" Cinder asked, playing along.

"I had a reliable source leave me a message on my website that said they saw _The Mechanic_ leaving school grounds with a backpack last night!" Cress squealed just as Cinder went ridged. How could she have been so stupid as to come back from a mission _without changing out of her suit_ to retrieve the backpack she'd left in the main hall. She'd assumed all the students would be home in bed at eleven on a school night when she'd ventured onto the campus to grab her science homework.

"Are you sure?" Cinder asked, trying to push the idea out of her friends mind. "I mean, how many false tips have you received this year? 30? 40?" Cinder couldn't count how many times she'd sent Cress anonymous tips _just_ to throw her off her trail.

"37." Cress said mater-of-factly. She pushed her hands down into her lap as she looked dreamily into the air. "But that's besides the point, the source sent photos too!" Cress pushed her laptop towards Cinder, adjusting the lighting so Cinder could see properly. "They should be finished downloading any time now, and after that! Viola! I will have unmasked _The Mechanic_." Cress placed her hands on her hips proudly, scanning her friends face for approval.

Cinder stared at the rainbow circle that spun around the screen and searched for something that would throw her friend off her trail. "Um…" She looked around her room until her eyes landed on a photo of herself and Prince in action, taken by the press. "What about _The Prince_? He's just as interesting as _The Mechanic_ and," she placed her hand on her heart, creating an over dramatic sigh. "A lot dreamier!" Cinder attempted to make herself sound like one of the many fans she and Prince had encountered after their patrols, the ones who drooled all over themselves at the sight of the masked boy.

"Oh, what is this? Does someone have eyes for one other than Kai?" Cress teased as Cinder launched herself on top of Cress, gripping a hand around her mouth in attempt to muffle the sounds coming out.

Cress was one of the few people, if not the only, who knew of Cinder's infatuation with the new transfer student who had been homeschooled his entire life. Cinder could get lost for hours staring into his copper brown eyes that seemed to swallow you up whole if you stared into them long enough. She found it charming how he ran his fingers through his hair when he was upset. She- Cinder stopped herself. What she needed to do was distract Cress so she could delete the footage of her sneaking out of the school before Cress posted it anywhere.

"I have eyes for whoever deserves them." Cinder said coyly. The doorbell rang, snapping both Cinder and Cress from their thoughts. "Come on, let's head back to school! If we hurry I bet we can sit next to Thorne and Kai!"

Cress lit up at the mention of Thorne, her long time crush of three years. They both sprang up from their seats and raced down the hall towards the kitchen, Cress conveniently forgetting her laptop upstairs in the haze of excitement. Cinder smiled and chased after her.

 **4 HOURS EARLIER**

Sitting behind of Kai during english class was the worst punishment the stars could inflict on Cinder. She found herself constantly loosing focus as her eyes drifted from the board to Kai's full head of silky black hair. Cinder knew that she had a crush the size of the moon on Kai, but she also knew she wasn't the only one. Her gaze drifted to Pearl, Cinder's antagonizing older step-sister who went out of her way to make Cinder's life a living hell. Pearl's eyes were fixed on Kai's, giving a flirtatious smile whenever Kai seemed to look her way. It made Cinder sick to think that someone as evil as Pearl could attract the attention of someone so kind as Kai. It made it even worse that they seemed to be somewhat of friends.

Cinder wouldn't call herself the jealous type, hell, she didn't even have Kai to be jealous over, but when she saw them together something bubbled in her stomach.

Cress tapped Cinder's shoulder three times before she finally looked at the blonde girl. "Earth to Cinder!" Cress whispered, trying to to drag any unwanted attention towards them. "I asked if you were free to hang out tonight?"

"Tonight?" Cinder mumbled, barley focused on Cress at all. "I can't tonight I have patr-" She stopped herself, frightened by how easy it was for the words to slip out. She could not tell Cress that she was going on patrol, oh no, that would give her identity away far too easily. "There is a big order coming in at the supply store that I have to unload."

The lie. It was too easy to lie to her best friend. It was too easy to pretend that she wasn't a superhero. It was too easy to pretend that this secret didn't tear her apart everyday.

Cress simply sighed, leaned over the the seats in front of them, that of which belonged to Thorne and Kai, and proceeded to ask them about their night.

"Are you guys busy tonight?" Cress said, avoiding Thorne's eyes at all costs. Sometimes Cinder wondered if she was as obvious as Cress was when it came to boys. Whenever Thorne would tell one of his awful, rude jokes Cress would giggle herself senseless until Cinder had to physically stop her.

"Nope," Thorne said, trying to look at Cress. "Got the whole weekend free. Why?"

Cress stared at Thorne's shirt, unable to meet his eyes. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie." When the silence was too long she also quickly added, "Kai too, of course!"

"Sorry, Cress," Kai said. "I've got somewhere I've gotta be tonight and there's no getting out of it."

"See," Cinder said, poking Cress. "I'm not the only one." When Kai's eyes met Cinder's she froze, unable to move until he smiled the most beautiful smile Cinder thought anyone could ever smile.

Quickly, trying to recover from the momentary blunder, she gathered her books. "Well, just looks like it'll be you and Thorne tonight!" Cinder winked at Cress as her cheeks became a shade of pink Cinder didn't know was possible.

"Have a nice face, Kai." She called as she left the room, then stopped, horrified at what had just come out of her mouth. "I-I mean, have a nice _day!_ " She tried to pick up the pieces. "Not that you don't have a nice face, you do! I just didn't mean it that way…" She trailed off, realizing that all her talking was just digging herself deeper into a hole. As gracefully as possible she ran out the door and onto side walk, shamed and grateful to be out of the room with the prying eyes of other students.

 _Well,_ Cinder thought, trying to be positive. _At least it can't get any worse._

 **2 HOURS EARLIER**

One would think that when they find themselves in their own home, the space they had made for themselves, that they feel safest there. One would also think that this so called home was not full of people who would tear you apart piece by piece until you had nothing left to give.

People who thought in that manner had clearly never been inside the Linh household on a Tuesday night. Tuesdays were the days that parts for the families auto repair store was shipped in. Although, taking a step back, Cinder wasn't quite sure that one could call it the families rather than just Cinder's. After all, Cinder was almost positive that Adri, Cinder's step-mother of five years, had never step foot in the store in her entire life. Her entire family was kept afloat by the amount of pay that was given to them by the government for housing a foster child and from whatever Cinder could bring in working her ass of day and night—that is, whenever she wasn't saving the city— in a old run down shop.

Cinder never really understood why she was still stuck with this family who clearly wanted nothing to do with her. She knew the pay that the government was giving them wasn't enough to keep Adri satisfied, so why even bother?

At one point, Cinder had believed that Adri and her daughter had loved her. She remembered distinctly the day Adri asked Cinder to call her Step-mother instead of just Adri. It had filled Cinder's heart with every positive feeling she could think of.

Now, Cinder honestly thought the only reason she was still around was so that Adri could prove to herself that she wasn't the monster she had become.

"Cinder!" Pearl called from downstairs, annoyance dripping off her voice. "Fix dinner already!"

Cinder groaned as she removed herself from the desk to attend to whatever needed to be cooked downstairs. She'd just deleted all the photos off of Cress's computer and planned on safely returning the device when Cress realized it was missing.

Cinder dreaded leaving the small sanctuary she had built herself in the small attic room upstairs. The walls were covered in grease stains from where one of her creations had gone a little hay-wire. The small pull-out-couch where Cinder slept was covered in papers of homework she anticipated starting if it meant having an excuse to get away from her two tormentors downstairs.

But she also knew that cooking, cleaning, and working the shop were all part of the deal she had made with her step-mother four years ago when she was twelve. If she did most of the work in the house and brought in a steady pace of customers at the shop she would be able to attend school, sleep over with Cress, and best of all, she had the entire attic to herself.

Ever since she had become _The Mechanic_ the attic had been a blessing. She was able to sneak out the window and back through it without anyone ever noticing she was gone. Cinder had mentally thanked younger Cinder for that save.

"Cinder!" Pearl's whining brought Cinder back into reality and reminded her of where she needed to be. She took her time walking down the halls of the house, staring at the family photos on the wall, none of which included her. She came across one that always made her stop in her tracks. Dragging a hand down the side of the picture, Cinder looked at her younger sister. The only person in the Linh family who had truly welcomed her and made her feel like she was important enough to exist. She was also the only Linh who had been removed, taken from Cinder's grasp by the claws of death. No one knew how she died, Adri had never told the Pearl or Cinder, only that it was slow and painful. The culprit was never caught.

 _Peony._ Cinder thought as she stared into the little girl's unmoving eyes. _Her name was Peony._

"Cinder, I swear if you are not in this kitchen in 30 seconds I will-" Adri's voice was threatening, breaking the calm sorrow that had engulfed Cinder. She rushed into the kitchen to set up the meal, careful to avoid Adri's hollow eyes that stared holes into her.

"What am I preparing?" Cinder asked, pulling open the pantry door in search for ingredients.

"Potstickers with rice," Adri declared, handing Pearl a card that had was beautifully crafted on all sides, dotted with ink in the corner marking the return address. "This came in the mail for you today, Pearl."

Waiting no time at all, Pearl ripped into the letter, destroying the careful ink marks and the velvet red stamp that clasped it shut. A squeal escaped her mouth, threatening to break Cinder's ear drum, as the older sister read through the rest of the note.

"It's an invitation to Kai's party!" Pearl screamed, jumping up and down with a less enthused Adri but right as Pearl murmured, "He's rich," Adri began to rejoice with her daughter while Cinder stood staring at the two.

"I knew he would invite me, mother! He _so_ has a crush on me." Pearl boasted as Adri went on about how she could one day be rich enough to afford an entire staff of maids to do the cooking and cleaning for her. _That part_ did not sound too bad to Cinder. What did bother her was that Pearl, Cinder's annoying older sister who almost everyone hated, had been invited to the party and not her. She had led herself to believe that she and Kai were friends, or a least close enough acquaintances to receive an invitation to a stupid party. Maybe it was that last comment she had made today, oh god she had been so stupid.

"Did I happen to receive one?" Cinder asked, poking her head in-between the two's conversation.

Neither of them was polite enough the stifle the giggles that sprang up inside them.

"As if you could ever be special enough to get an invitation from Kai, of all people!" Pearl said, laughing at herself in a way that was not becoming.

But it was Adri who turned to her and said, "Perhaps it got lost in the mail." Her smile was menacing and made Cinder want to curl up into a ball of herself and never come out. _That_ was all the indication Cinder needed that she had, indeed, received an invitation but Adri had stolen it and hid it somewhere.

"Now, me and Pearl are going to go dress shopping for the big event while you stay here and fix dinner. If it's not ready by the time I get back then you better hope you have somewhere else warm to sleep tonight." Adri set her eyes dead into Cinder's, challenging her to protest but Cinder had been playing this game long enough to know that if she wanted to win she was going to have to save all her energy for the boss battle.

 **ONE HOUR EARLIER**

Cinder's eyes were fixed on the net screen that was blasting the top 40 of Cinder's parents age group. She found the old music calming, thinking of a time when there was no _Mechanic_ to haunt her every step.

She had no idea how her parents had died, only that Iko told her it had greatly influenced why she had become the masked hero she was today.

"Those who have seen death with their own two eyes are the best to protect others from it." Iko had told her when she's first appeared in Cinder's home that hot day one year ago. "You are going to be someone you never thought you could." Iko had told Cinder when she had agreed to let the pocket sized android in. "You are going to save lives."

Cinder wasn't sure if Peter Parker ever felt this way when he was Spider Man but if there was one thing Cinder was positive of, it was that being a superhero was not all it was cracked up to be.

"Yum! That food smells great!" Iko said, popping her head out from under the table to get a closer look at the potstickers Cinder was frying. "I, for one, am glad they finally decided to do us both a favor and leave!" She looked up at Cinder apologetically. "I truly do not know how you do it."

"Do what?" Cinder said, turning another potsticker over, checking to see if she'd burned anything.

"Let them bully you like that! You're _The Mechanic_ for stars sake! Stand up to them." Iko was throwing imaginary punches into the air and then ducking from an imaginary punch thrown her way.

"Iko, you know it's not that simple. They are the only people I've ever know. Plus, if I left them I'd have to stay at the shelter until I'm 18! Hard to fight crime when you're homeless." She pushed Iko aside playfully, grateful to have the distraction.

"I know, but still, just think of the-" Cinder shushed Iko as she turned up the volume on the net screen, which had interrupted the regularly scheduled programing and was now showing a panicked reporter in front of a burning building.

The reporter, a woman that looked to be in her late twenties, was a mumbling mess. All Cinder could make out was the words _arson_ and _criminals._ She knew then what she had to do.

"Iko," she said, grabbing the androids attention. "You know what we have to do."

Iko looked appalled. "But Adri will _KILL_ you!"

Cinder returned the look. "And risk everyone else's lives? Come on, we have to leave now! We're already late and Prince is probably there handling the mess by himself."

Iko half heartedly agreed, following Cinder as she ran outside of the house and into the city streets, heart racing and pulse flowing.

 **NOW**

The fire was black, letting off rings of smoke as she passed each room, checking for survivors. She hadn't been so lucky as to find a single living soul. Cinder tripped over something soft, dread filling every limb she could feel. She turned around as fast as her skin sight suit would allow and found a charred black girl, no older than Peony had been, maybe twelve or thirteen, sprawled out on the floor. Her legs had been burned so badly that Cinder knew there was no hope for ever saving them and the child coughed so heavily that Cinder knew that smoke had gotten to her. Cinder knew she wasn't going to survive.

The girl's eyes were wide with fear, taking in her surroundings as best as possible in the haze of black smoke that crowded both their visions. When her eyes met Cinder's they danced with life as her lips moved to form the last words she would ever speak.

"Mechan-" She let out a pitiful cough that sent Cinder's heart into the air.

"Shh…" Cinder cooed, bringing herself closer to the girls face so they could both see each other fully. The child's eyes were plastered with dried tears and her arm was clearly broken as it sat out of place when she tried to sit up.

"Shh, no." Cinder whispered, not daring to bring her voice above the level it was at now. Calm was what she needed to appear as. If she was calm then the child on the other end had no reason to feel anything but calm either.

"A-am I going to…" the child, who's brown skin was now tainted forever with the black smoke that floated around them both, struggled with every word the escaped her mouth. Cinder wanted to end it all, drive her blade deep into the child's heart if it meant her not having to suffer anymore. "Am I going to die?"

When Cinder just stared at her, eyes pleading for answers the world was not prepared to give her, the child let out a sob, quiet and tender, but loud enough to break every piece of Cinder that was still intact.

"Help!" A cry escaped the other room, desperate and sharp. "My leg! It-it's caught!"

Cinder knew she had to leave, but the thought of leaving the child here, alone to die, glued Cinder to where she sat.

"Go, _Mechanic_ ," the girl whispered. "I'll be fine." Cinder knew the child was lying being that she felt almost no pulse when she stuck her hand close to the child's neck. "Go," she pushed. "Don't let my life sacrifice everyone else's."

The man next door was still screaming, waiting for help. His voice was powerful enough the be carried down the stairs where the fire fighters would hear him. He would be saved. Cinder could stay with this girl.

" _Go_." The child pushed, voice hoarse. The last words she would ever speak.

Unwillingly, Cinder pushed herself off onto her feet and looked at the girl one last time, smiling ever-so slightly.

"Be brave." She whispered, well aware that she was no longer breathing.

She turned on her heels, eyes watering with tears, and ran towards the sounds of the man screaming a few choice curse words as she watched a cabinet fall onto his hand.

"Shit!" He cried, trying to pull it away. Once he realized it was stuck he let out a sigh of frustration, leaning back against the pole that held his foot to the ground.

Cinder stepped into the room, very much aware of the three other dead bodies that sat in the corner of the room. She noticed that the bodies weren't covered in black soot but instead were pale white with trails of blood dripping down from their mouths and into the floor.

"You killed them?" The man spun around, his face hairy and his green eyes staring fiercely at Cinder's dagger, all too aware of who she was with the mask.

" _I_ had nothing to do with these deaths." He said, clearly trying to hide how afraid he was under the haughty expression he carried. It wasn't working. "Someone by the name of Amiery came and chopped these people up," he stopped, trying to regain his composure. "Said the only reason I wasn't dead along with them was so that I could be the messenger."

"A messenger?" Cinder asked, trying to think of any plausible reason Amiery would need a messenger. Last time she checked, the sick man enjoyed leaving his little killing sprees with nothing but a red _A_ marking the door.

"Look, if you're here to kill me too, could you possibly, I don't know, not?" He looked stronger now, as if something had clicked inside of him that made him want to fight to stay alive. He looked like a wild animal. "I've got a wife and a baby girl on the way. I _need_ to stay alive." His eyes floated up to a picture of what Cinder had to guess was his family. The man, who was clean shaven in the photo, was standing next to a fierce looking red head. She covered in freckles and had a smile that shone bright even from behind the cracked glass of the frame.

"Is this you're office?" Cinder asked, trying to assess the situation. "I fully intend to get you out of here if you just answer a few questions."

"Okay…" He said, a bit apprehensive. He clearly didn't like the idea of staying in this room anymore than Cinder did.

She began to lift the poll out from underneath him, dragging it some way before dropping it back down onto the ground, breaking the floor a bit as she did.

"Do you have any idea why this man killed these people?" Cinder asked, trying to figure out how she was going to lift the gigantic cabinet off of his hand.

"No! I've never seen him before in my life!" The man didn't even wince as Cinder accidentally dropped the cabinet on his hand when it slipped from her grasp.

"How do you know his name?"

"He left a note, but it's long gone now." He coughed again, the smoke filling up both of their lungs. "Must have been burned with all the rest of my work."

Cinder looked frantically around the room, searching for the note that was nowhere to be found. _Damnit_ , she thought as she tried to make her way across the room, only to be stopped by a flaming piece of wood that fell from the ceiling.

The man let out an aggravated and fearful gasp. "Are you going to help me or not?" He tugged at his arm but it was unwilling to move, trapped under the pounds of wood that held it.

"Don't," Cinder said, positioning her thoughts back to man's safety. "You'll injure yourself worse." She played one finger to her lip, contemplating what course of action she was to take. "I think I know what to do."

The man let out an audible scoff and it took every ounce of Cinder's self control not the lash out at the man. "Finally."

She did her best to ignore the man, who was clearly under stress and Cinder knew she couldn't hate him for wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. Fumbling around her belt she found her cellphone, battery at less than ten percent, and dialed the number that would save her.

"Hello, my princess." Prince's voice purred as he answered the call.

"There's no time for this!" Cinder said, dismissing his future attempts at flattery. "I'm stuck up on the 12th floor and need your help."

"I _told_ you!" Prince laughed, fear edging his voice. "No one _ever_ listens to me but what did I say? I told you you'd be burnt to a crisp!"

"Just come and get me!" Cinder cried, frustrated that _now_ he had decided to become unreasonable.

"What I put myself through for you, princess." He hung up before Cinder could chastise him anymore.

"Someone's coming to help us." Cinder informed the man while she attempted, in vain, to lift the cabinet off him again. At that moment, a flaming piece of the ceiling fell down, inches away from the mans lifeless hand. He let out a cry as the fire singed the tips of his hair. Cinder could feel the intensity of the heat from her spot a few feet over and she prayed that Prince would get there as soon as possible.

Cinder opened her eyes to find herself on the ground, outside in the heat of the day. She looked around slowly, trying to regain her composure as she searched her memory for the recent events.

Fire.

Girl.

Fire.

Death.

Fire.

Man.

Fire.

The memories came rushing into her like a wave onto white sand beaches. The memories were laced with red flames, licking at all edges of her vision. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, using a trick she'd taught herself was useful when she needed to calm down.

"Rise and shine." A low voice rang, flooding her thoughts with nothing but white noise. She re-opened her eyes to find herself nose to nose with Prince, his smile reaching lengths Cinder knew must have broken records.

She pushed him away gently, still weak from the mission. "What happened?"

Prince looked at her with an overdramatic flare of shock in his eyes. "You mean you don't remember my dashing effort to rescue you?" When Cinder said nothing he shook his head softly. "Why do I even try?"

She gave him a pointed look that said _explain_.

"Okay, okay." Prince gave her a vague outline as to what had happened. She remembered calling him and asking him to come help her but everything after that was a blur. Prince did his best to fill in any missing spaces.

She and Prince had both freed the man, letting him escape while they preformed a damage control check on the place. After they did so, Cinder was just about to escape when the roof collapsed on them both, burning Prince's right forearm and leaving Cinder's metal hand slightly melted. Prince, who was still conscious, dragged them both out while the fire department did the best they could to control the situation.

"Woah," Cinder breathed, once he had finished. "Thank you."

He cracked a small smile and said, "Anytime, princess." Cinder proceeded to roll her eyes, glad that they were both alive and in one piece.

"Did you…" Cinder started, trying to build up the courage to ask the question that had been haunting her ever since she'd come to. "Did you find a little girl?"

Prince's eyes became soft, apologetic and angry at the same time, like he too was pained by the loss of the little girl. "They found her body. I'm sorry."

Cinder didn't have the strength to cry, she simply closed her eyes, counted to ten, and reset herself, fully aware that the dreams that would plague her tonight would contain the little girl's face.

"Let me see your wounds." Cinder said, changing the subject and pulling his arm towards her, trying to examine the burn marks.

"Maybe some other time," Prince said, standing up and brushing himself clean of grass and dirt. "My glamour is about to run out and we both know how much of a disaster that would be."

Cinder gave weak smile, trying to lighten the mood he'd set very solemn. "Stars know what a wreck you are under all that spandex."

Prince gave a small chuckle, turning his back, but not before whispering, "Maybe one day you'll find out."

Cinder's glamour didn't last but a few minutes after Prince had left, leaving her face hot from where the mask had been and the feeling of nothingness still floating around her.

She should have done more, been more heroic. She should have done a lot of things today.

Iko emerged from behind her as she trudged her way home, brushing past the miles of unsuspecting people on her way.

"You did everything you could have done to protect her, you know." Iko said as more tears began to fall from her eyes.

She wiped them away, ashamed that she felt this way over someone she didn't truly know. "I'm awful at this." She mumbled the sentence over and over, drilling it into her head like it was a popular song she was trying to memorize. "I don't know why you chose me, out of all the people in the city, you chose me and look how I'm living up to the title." She threw her hands out in front of her, frustration written up and down her body like tattoos she could never be rid of.

"Don't be daft." Iko whispered, keeping her voice level and calm compared to Cinder's broken and hurting. "I chose you because I knew you'd be the right person for the job. Your heart is so big you couldn't fill it if you tried."

She smiled a tad bit at the compliment and let her thoughts wonder to the day Iko had chosen her.

She had been newly fifteen at the time, enjoying her last day of winter break when a crash has sounded from the opposite side of the room. She'd gotten up, curious as the what could have made such a noise this hour in the morning when she'd seen Iko's tiny body trying to untangle herself from the mess of wires connected to Cinder's port screen. She'd chased the small android-like creature around the room, believing it was a pest. Finally, when Iko had presented herself and the opportunity of a lifetime, Cinder was overly excited to say yes.

Cinder remembered the feeling of being wanted for the first time by someone other than Cress. She remembered the first time Iko had asked her how her day had been and the smile that was stuck on Cinder's face for the rest of the day. She remembered her first mission and how disastrous it has been, almost killing herself when her grappling hook would not release. She remembered meeting Prince for the first time, the way he took her hand and kissed it, followed by a witty comment that made her laugh until she couldn't breathe. She remembered it all, every step and every set back.

Cinder wondered that if she'd known what was in store for her that she'd change her mind, say goodbye to everything she'd grown to love.

"Plus," Iko said, pulling Cinder back into current time. "You are a really good cook and mama gets hungry sometimes." Iko laughed at herself and Cinder willed herself to join in, letting her chest rise and fall happily.

"Stars!" Iko cried, "That reminds me, we need to get home and finish that dinner!"

Cinder's eyes lit up in comprehension and she drug her feet across the ground, racing to get home in time to finish what Adri had asked of her.

It was almost eleven thirty when Adri and Pearl pulled into the driveway, music blaring from the speakers and simultaneously waking Cinder up from her short nap.

Jumping up from the couch, she ran to take the food from the warmer where they had been residing every since Cinder had arrived home and bandaged her wounds.

She would admit that it was getting easier to forget that what had happened to _The Mechanic_ had also happened to her. Splitting the two lives up completely seemed to help with Cinder's sanity.

"I can't believe I found it!" Pearl cried as the two entered the house, shopping bags covering them from head to toe.

Adri made her way into the kitchen slowly. Once she entered, she looked at Cinder and the meal laid out in front of her with an agitated grimace.

"Oh, those won't be necessary." Adri said, rolling her eyes, "We picked something up while we were out."

Anger boiled up inside Cinder's veins, threatening to explode should she open her mouth. Instead, she simply turned her back towards the woman, not giving her the satisfaction of knowing how many buttons she pushed.

Pearl spun Cinder around to face her, cheeks flaming red with pride. "Won't this look lovely on me when I _finally_ kiss Kai?" Pearl danced around the room, overflowing with joy. Cinder wanted to crush her like the bug she was. "Pity you weren't invited." Pearl said, going on," Although, I do understand why. I, too, wouldn't want vermin infesting my party!" Pearl let out an obnoxious laugh

"Shush up, Pearl." Her mother warned, her pointed look soon turning into something more of mockery. "They've grown intelligent enough to understand speech!"

Cinder pushed past them both, rushing for her room, away from them both. She ran, trying to block out their torments with the sound of her pulse.

 **3:30 AM.**

She wasn't rummaging so much as searching, Cinder told herself as she dug through the pile of trash that was left outside on the curb of her house. She searched until her finger tips were numb from the freezing cold of the night. She searched until her hands landed on an envelope. It must have been white in its previous life where it was now covered in dirt. It looked beautiful even under the layer of filth.

Cinder raced upstairs, keeping careful not to wake the two other members of the household sleeping soundly downstairs.

Once she was in the comfort of her bed she opened the letter, making sure not to tear any edges.

Cinder laughed to herself as she read the letter. Only Kai, homeschooled since birth up until this year, would send a party invitation via mail.

Her name was specially signed at the bottom, the letters curving and dipping. Cinder had never seen her simple name look so beautiful.

She was going.

She whispered the fact over and over to herself until it started to make sense.

She was going.

She fell asleep to the soft rhythm of the words ringing on repeat inside her head.


	2. Chapter 2

The Princesat, cross-legged on the building, looking over the sea of people below him. The Mechanicsat next to him, her eyes scanning the windows of the nearby structures, keeping watch on the people inside.

"I don't feel good about this at all," She said between clenched teeth, her fingers fiddling with the place where her nails would be if the spandex didn't cover it up. The Prince had a feeling she was a nail biter when the mask was locked away.

This comforted him, the fact that The Mechanic was human, was someone else under the mask just like he was.

Pushing away his lingering thoughts of who her true identity was, he nodded his head. "It's never this quiet."

She stood up, brushing the soot off her suit, and uttered, "What is that?"

Prince's gaze wandered over the edge of a skyscraper. His eyes widened when he saw what was happening at the top.

"Aces," The Mechanicbreathed, hopping down from her perched position on the chimney of a house. Prince followed her with stealth as she made her way up the tall building, throwing her grappling hook so she could make it up the building faster. Prince, on the other hand, did not have a grappling hook to propel him towards the sky. All he had was the sudden agility gifted to him when he glamoured the mask onto himself. Quickly, he made his way up the skyscraper, careful to not burst any windows on his way up and frighten any civilians.

Once he was at the top, in record time, he waited for his partnerto unclip her belt before rushing into the mess of wires that crowded the top of the building. This must have been the base of a net service provider.

"This is your terrain," Prince said, giving a cheeky smile to his masked partner. "You know, wires and all."

She gave him a dry smile. "I got the joke. Now can we _please_ focus."

"Whatever you say, Princess." Prince knew he was pushing his luck with each syllable that came out of his mouth but he couldn't help himself. He let his gaze drift over to hers, finding a scowl that was soon replaced by a look of horror.

"Sir!" She cried, pushing through the jungle of wires that sat in front of them. Prince, using his abilities to his advantage, sprang over the mass of cords, landing right in front of what he now realized was a man. A man who was about to pitch himself off the top of the tallest skyscraper in New Beijing.

"Hey," Prince started, trying to get the mans attention. His sand blonde hair was tied into a small bun on the top of his head, while his arms were bound together with rope, between his palms was a tiny piece of paper. Prince plucked it out from between the man's grasp, setting it down safely on the ground.

Suddenly, the man noticed that Prince was touching him. He sprang to life, letting out cries of pain yet his legs kept moving towards the edge.

"Help!"

Prince tried to pull him back, realizing that he must've been under a manipulation that was forcing him to move forward. "Remain calm," He tried to be as soothing as possible but the man was too strong. He pulled Prince with him as he made his way closer to the edge.

"Help! I can't stop!" The man's cries were becoming louder and louder the closer the two got the edge. Prince's hands wrapped around a pole, trying to anchor himself to the ground but the man detached himself from Prince, growing closer and closer to the edge.

"Prince!" The Mechanic's voice echoed loudly in his ears as he saw her emerge from the jungle of wires.

"He's being manipulated! He's going to pitch himself off the building." Prince cried, throwing himself on top of the man in attempt to slow him down.

"What? I-I can't die!" The man was in hysterics now, tears streaming down his face, running into his mouth as he cried for help.

Prince's wide eyed partnerthrew herself in front of the man, trying to block him from tumbling over the edge. As the both of them pulled, they gained some leverage. The man's feet edged back a tad bit as the two heroes heaved and pulled until they had no strength.

Prince's fingers felt numb, but he clung onto the man as if his life depended on it. He called out to check on TheMechanic _,_ making sure she was still hanging in.

"I can't hold on any longer."

"Princess, no!" Prince cried, trying to give her the last bit of strength she needed but it was too late, her fingers had already detached from the man. Prince held on for his life, tugging and tearing at fabric but it was too late.

They both watched in horror as the man plummeted towards his death.

 **SIX HOURS EARLIER**

Kai sat up in bed, sweat covering his brow as his chest heaved up and down. He'd had another nightmare. He'd had another awful, earth shattering, all consuming nightmare. He'd been with his mother and his father in their estate in France.

 _Kai had been skipping rocks on the water, just ten years old at the time. His mother had shown him the best way to make the rock fly far across the water. He'd been practicing all day, perfecting each mistake he made in hopes that he could show his mother when she arrived home from her lunch date with his father._

 _Only, they never returned._

 _Kai had sat and waited and waited and waited until the sun went away and reappeared, this time brighter and full of more energy. That was the day the police came. That was the day he was brought to his new home. That was the day he met his aunt. That was the day his life changed forever._

Kai rubbed his eyes, begging the memories of the dream to go away. He pulled himself out of bed, fumbling a little as he made his way towards the bathroom sink. His eyes were drained of color and his skin looked like it hadn't seen the sun in eons. He looked like a wreck.

It'd been a week since he'd seen The Mechanic. It'd been a week since that little girl had died. Her face had been plastered across the news everywhere along with his and The Mechanic's. Since that day, his partnerhand't made a public appearance. She hadn't even come to patrols. Kai was beginning to become a bit worried. Scratch that, he was past worried.

"Well, well, someone doesn't look so hot today." Kinney's voice was muffled under the pile of wash cloths Kai had thrown him in last night after he'd won a game of chess. Kai was a bit of a sour loser.

"Shut up, Kinney." Kai flicked a tiny piece of toothpaste at the small android. Kinney dodged it before any real damage could be inflicted, sticking his tongue out at Kai as he did so.

"Any word from _Your Sweetheart_?"

At the mention of her name, even if it was an awful pet name, Kai felt his knees go weak and his heart begin to flutter. He pushed down the feelings, knowing that Kinney would just tease him for having such a huge crush on his mysterious partner. Kai wanted to kick himself too for developing feelings for his only true friend besides Thorne.

The Mechanicmight get annoyed with Kai at some points, brushing off his hints of flirtation and rolling her eyes whenever he cracked a stupid joke, but he knew that if it came down to it, they would give their lives for each other. That was the way they worked, as a team.

"I know you _can't_ be thinking about her now!" Kinney whined, clearly fed up with Kai's obvious infatuation. "You don't even know who she is underneath the mask. What if she's Pearl?"

At the thought of this, a chill ran down his back. Pearl was the rudest, most obnoxious person Kai had ever had the displeasure of knowing. She was always putting her foster sister, Cinder, down for not having any parents. Kai took pity on Cinder. He too, knew what it was like to not have a parental figure to whom he could truly look up to. His aunt was nice on a good day but oddly detached from his life.

"I'm only joking, of course." Kinney said, rolling around on the tile bathroom floor. "Nothing as vile as that devil spawn could be your _princess_." The way Kinney said princess, as if he was mocking what Kai called The Mechanic, made Kai want to strangle the little android.

He knew he couldn't, of course. As much as he disliked Kinney, even he had his good sides. Also, without Kinney, Kai would not be able to glamour himself to become The Prince every night.

Before he could respond, the door bell sounded, alerting Kai that Thorne was here to drive him to school. Kai had never needed to drive anywhere, being that he attended school in the comfort of his own home for most of his life, so he'd never obtained the skill of driving a car. Thus the fiasco that became _Driving With Thorne To School_.

Thorne, Kai's best friend since his aunt had let him join the public school system, was one of the most reckless drivers Kai had ever seen. He drove like he belonged in the wilderness, miles of open land without any trees to mare his precious car he'd named The Rampion _._ In the busy streets of New Beijing, however, Kai was afraid that his friend was going to run over small pedestrians and vendors as they passed.

"Kaito," His aunts voice called from the speakers they'd had installed after she'd complained about walking too far every morning to wake Kai up. "You're acquaintance, Carswell, is here to accompany you to school."

Kai rolled his eyes at his aunt. She refused to believe that Kai had actually become friends with someone so _Americanized_ like Thorne. She simply called him Kai's acquaintance and, on a good day, his chauffeur.

"Why yes, Ms. Blackburn, my truck _does_ have a new coat of paint. Thank you for noticing." Kai could hear Thorne's assertive voice all the way from the other side of the house. He sighed, picked up his school bag, and left his room in the sorry condition it was in the night before.

"Hey, Thorne!" He fist bumped with the tall American before leaning in to hug his aunt. "Bye, Levana." His aunt didn't return the hug, nor did Kai expect her to. She wasn't one for touchy-feely relations.

As he exited the house, he swore he could have heard Kinney's faint whimper, like he was afraid of what was inside the house.

 _So I am, Kinney._ Kai thought, climbing into the giant truck. _So am I._

 **FOUR HOURS EARLIER**

Kai enjoyed his seat. He could easily sneak peaks at his phone during the lessons and make sure Kinney wasn't making a mess in his backpack. The only part of the seating arrangement that Kai wasn't so sure was a bonus was Thorne. Sure, Thorne could make any girls swoon, including the history teacher, but that did not mean getting good grades came as easily to him. Therefore, Kai would always catch him sneaking peaks at his paper. It _did_ make Kai feel special, wanted even, to know that he wasn't as useless as his aunt made him feel sometimes.

Now, as they all started to slowly move towards lunch, Thorne quietly nudged him as the door the class room swung open. Through it, walked Cress Darnel and her best friend Linh Cinder. Cress had had a giant crush on Thorne since they could speak, at least, that's what Thorne had told him. Cinder, Cress's best friend since she had moved from whatever previous foster home she had been in, was more pulled together than Cress, acted more mature. Every move she made seemed calculated and precise, whereas Cress sometimes tripped over her own feet.

Kai had never had the opportunity to have a conversation with Cinder for more than three minutes without her stuttering or having some emergency come up. She didn't seem shy when she was hanging around Cress, however. Kai concluded that she must not like his company, explaining the strange excuses whenever he'd try to talk to her.

The thought of someone not liking him _did_ make him a bit uneasy. He decided that he would find a way to make Linh Cinder his friend, even if it took the entire school year.

His thoughts were interrupted when Thorne jabbed him in the side of the ribs.

"Ow," He complained, rubbing the side of his ribcage.

"Look man, I know you've been out of it this week but how come you haven't asked me how my date with Cress went?"Thorne was sporting his most toothy smile, complete with the suggestive eyebrow to go along with it.

Kai rolled his eyes and leaned forward, pretending to be deeply invested in his friends love life. " _Oh, Carswell, do share!_ " He fluttered his eyelashes like a school girl and proceeded to gaze at the spot above Thorne's head.

"Shut up," Thorne breathed, punching him in the arm and rearranging himself so he was in the key position to tell a story.

"So we're at the movies and she looks great but she's talking so fast I can't really keep up so I suggest we take our seats. Then, she does this weird thing where she was quizzing me on myself, which is weird in itself."Thorne tapped his pencil to his chin, like he was trying to decipher the world's toughest puzzle. "But then, she knew more about me than I did. Like, what's up with that, man? Anyways, we make it into the movie theatre and just when the film starts, they tell us all to evacuate." Thorne looked angry, outraged even, that his date with Cress had been put on hold.

"Why'd you need to evacuate?" Kai asked, already knowing the answer. The movie theatre was very close to the scene of the fire.

"I'm getting to that." Thorne said, glancing around to make sure the two of them were alone in the corner of the crowded room. "They were telling everyone they needed to evacuate because of an arson attempt on the nearby building…And that's when I saw her." He paused, contemplating his next choice of words. "Well, Cress actually saw her first and pulled out her phone to take pictures for her blog but that is besides the point."

Thorne's eyes grew wide as he unraveled the story. "TheMechanic. Can you believe it? I saw TheMechanicin action!" He threw his hands in his hair, raking his fingers through strands of blonde as he did. "And the best part? The entire time, Cress was cuddled up next to me, asking me to take some pictures for her since I was taller and hugging me after it was all over."

Kai stared at his friend in amusement.

"Just a hug?" Kai asked, knowing that Thorne normally got a lot more than a hug on the first date.

"I think I like how slow Cress wants to take it. Makes it seem more real."

Kai was baffled, until Thorne opened his mouth again.

"Plus, I'm going out with this other girl tomorrow and she is _fine_."

Kai laughed, pitying the fact that his friend would never truly understand companionship.

"So…" Kai said, wanting to get an outsiders opinion on himself in action. "Did you see ThePrince? I hear he's really epic in action too."

Thorne brushed him off, "Nah man, he was already up on the roof when we got there. Plus, I don't think he's as cool as TheMechanicis. I mean, she's got a freaking grappling hook."

Kai was offended, taking the favoritism towards his partner harder than he probably should have.

"Well, I mean, ThePrincehas a boomerang. That's pretty cool. He can _never_ lose it. _Way_ cooler than a lame old grappling hook."

Thorne laughed, clearly amused at Kai's thought process. "Sounds a little to me like he's just a carbon copy of Captain Boomerang."

Kai scrunched his nose, clearly confused as to who Captain Boomerang was and how ThePrincewas a carbon copy. "Who?"

"DC Comics?" Thorne looked exasperated. "Come on, man."

Just then, Cress made her way towards the two, Cinder right in toe with a stack of book piled to her chin. Kai greeted them each politely, Cress giving his hand a quick shake and Cinder murmuring a small "Hey," before ducking her head to the side. _Gee_ , Kai thought. _She must really not like me_.

"Guys," Thorne said, his voice directed towards the two girls in front of them. "Who do you like better: TheMechanicor ThePrince. I'm saying TheMechanicbut Kai here is rooting for ThePrince."

Cress looked at him funny, her nose scrunched up in a way that said _really?_

"What?" Kai said, growing even more defensive. "I heard he's super bad-ass and funny as hell."

Cinder let out a small snort from behind the stack of books. Kai leaned forward, trying to see what was so funny then feeling stupid when he realized he was the one being laughed at.

"ThePrince _,"_ Cinder began, setting down her books and letting her confidence build a bit, "Is _not_ funny. Have you heard his puns?" Kai almost touched his heart. _He_ thought his puns were hilarious, then again, TheMechanicdid not. "Plus, TheMechanicwas ten times smarter than ThePrince _._ Honestly, I'm surprised shehasn't ditched him yet."

Thorne folded his hands out in front of the three others, accepting his obvious win. "The people have spoken."

Kai was about to shoot back a clever, pun-filled, response when his phone rang. The theme song to Spider-man filled the classroom as he fumbled around aimlessly, trying to find the source of the music.

"Hello?" He answered, once he'd retrieved the phone from the mountains of paper in his bag.

" _Kaito_ ," His aunts voice boomed through the speakers. "I want you home this instant." Before he could begin to ask why, the phone call was ended, leaving Kai disheveled and without answers.

"I've got to go," He declared, picking up his stuff, annoyed that he would miss yet another lesson to tend to his aunts whims.

"I'll drop off the homework after class, okay?" Thorne asked, clearly understanding that Kai was upset about having to leave the campus.

"You could drop it off at Cinder's house! She lives right by school." Cress suggested as Cinder jabbed an elbow into her ribcage.

"Nah," Thorne said, gathering his papers. "I got it."

"Bye, Kai." Cress called as he started to leave the building.

"Bye," Cinder called, softer but just as powerful.

Both of the girls turned around, making their way to their seats. Kai could only hear whispers of their conversation as he crept closer towards the door.

"Is that a burn mark on your arm?" He heard Cress exclaim from her desk. "When did you get that?"

"Umm… Friday night." Cinder said. Kai was surprised he could hear her voice that was usually so quiet from all the way across the room. "It's a long story."

Kai was too upset to even think about the connection between the two burn marks he and Cinder both shared. He was too upset to think about what could be in store for him when he opened the doors to his house.

 **TWO HOURS EARLIER**

He was sitting in his room, fumbling mutely with the tie that was strapped around his neck, choking him slightly. He'd just arrived home from a publicity stunt that his aunt had called him out of school for. Kai didn't believe that the lunch-in work date was worth missing vital education but he didn't dare test his aunts nerves when she was as stressed as she was today.

He found himself wishing he could vanish and reappear as ThePrince _._ His life behind the mask was less complicated and involved a beautiful girl in skin tight clothing. Except, Kai didn't feel that way about TheMechanic _,_ or, at least, he tried not the feel that way about his partner. He knew nothing good could come from the crush yet here he was, still thinking about her and the fearless way she throws herself into saving others lives.

He thought about consulting Kinney, being that he was the only one Kai could talk about his feelings for TheMechanicwith. Then again, talking to Kinney would mean waking the small robot up and that was something Kai, himself, was afraid to do. Kinney might be small but the 6 inch android was intolerable when woken from his mid-afternoon naps.

Instead, he let his thoughts wonder to TheMechanicagain, knowing that he should restrain himself yet finding himself thinking about her in depth. Kai imagined she was even more feisty without the uniform and he imagined her hair flowing against her shoulders when it wasn't up in the messy ponytail she always wore it in.

He heard her voice, teasing him about his newest cringe-worthy pun, whisper softly as he shut his eyes, hoping for an ounce of sleep before their patrol which would not end until late in the night.

"Kaito!"

No such luck.

His aunts voice was sharp as nails, warning him of the torture that was to commence if he didn't make his way down the stairs. Groaning slightly, he slid his feet off the bed and padded quietly down the stairs.

His aunt was no longer in her floor length gown but instead an over-the-top sun dress that showed more of her than Kai particularly wanted to see. He kept his eyes averted while his aunt addressed him.

"Why are still in your clothes? You will wrinkle them!" She waved her hands in the air, exasperated, and continued her tirade. "I need you to finish your homework right away. We have a meeting with the CEO of the modeling company you worked with last summer in Maine in an hour. They are looking for a new spokesman and they believe you are the one for the job. Of course, that would mean you having to drop out and resume your private lessons, but I'm sure that's arrangeable." She folded her hands over her arms, clearly happy with the meddling she'd done in his life, and waited for Kai's response.

It would not come. Kai had no words for the defeat he was feeling in the moment. He'd worked so hard, exhausted every excuse for him to stay in the public school system, and yet here he was, every opportunity about to be ripped away from him. How could he defend New Beijing in Maine?

"I…" He was speechless, utterly and completely speechless. "I will need a few days to think about the job."

His aunt's face puckered into a look that scared Kai. "You do not have a few days. You have an hour until the CEO will be here. It is not up for discussion. Go finish your homework."

He was dismissed before he could even open his mouth to form a whine of indifference. He knew he could not leave New Beijing, this was his home now, yet he did not know how he could convince his aunt of the same.

He ran upstairs, a cloud of anger and betrayal following him as he stomped his feet, throwing a tantrum like any other self respecting toddler.

He had to get out. He had to escape. Where? He didn't know, it seemed unimportant at the time. All he knew was that if he was in his home when the CEO arrived, he would be kissing his new life goodbye.

Without another thought, he grabbed his bag, Kinney inside, and jumped out of the window onto the ground below him.

 **THIRTY MINUTES EARLIER**

He'd been running for what seemed like days when it must've only been hours. The cool night air was only beginning to wrap around him and his black suit. He'd morphed hours before, thinking that it would be much less conspicuous to see ThePrinceflying around New Beijing instead of Kai.

He threw all his aggression into the sport of running, letting it take him to a safer place than his head. Dangerous things occurred there.

"Where have you been?" A voice sounded from the top of the nearest house. His head jerked in the direction and his eyes landed on TheMechanic. She was wearing her suit, complete with messy ponytail and silver belt. His mood brightened a bit when he saw the smile she sported, her white teeth a contrast to the black that blended into the night.

"The real question" He sighed, trying to sound as care-free as possible. He didn't need his partner worrying about his hurt feelings all night. "Is where have _you_ been? I haven't heard from you all week."

"Right," She looked distraught as she gracefully removed herself from the roof, slipping down onto the level ground where Kai stood. "I was kind of out of it."

"Well at least you're feeling better," Prince said, trying not to sound distracted. "Ready to go?"

Her eyes met his and for a moment Prince believed he was floating, then realized how stupid he sounded and looked away sheepishly.

Prince smiled at the ground, his thoughts already clouding over, forgetting about what had happened back at his home and about what would be waiting for him when he returned. It was always like this around her. She made everything less complicated.

Prince edited about what he'd just thought. No, she made everything _more_ complicated. He'd wondered before if previous protectors had fallen in love. Had they made it work? Could he and TheMechanicmake it work?

He straightened his back and followed his partner down the messy streets of New Beijing. "Of course, my flower." He quietly cringed as he spoke, wondering how in hell he'd let a pet name like _flower_ slip out of his mouth.

His internal thoughts were displayed perfectly on TheMechanic's face. She scrunched up her nose and swatted him across the shoulder. "Flower? Really, Prince? That's the best you can think of?" She fiddled with her ponytail, adjusting the rubber band so it had a firm grip in her hair. "You know we're not like that, anyways."

Prince tried to brush the comment off with a laugh and another cringe worthy statement.

"Oh, princess, tell me I'm not just another notch in your belt." He eyed the silver belt she was wearing while he internally slapped himself repeatedly. Why was he such a fool around her?

She gave him a small look of confusion, not understanding the joke.

"Because you're wearing a belt…get it? Notch in your _belt_." He'd taken it way too far now, so far that he wasn't sure he'd be able to gracefully descend from his shame.

"Haha," She faked a laugh. "Besides, I'm in love with someone else."

Prince stopped dead in his tracks, his heartbeat quickening in pace.

"In _love_?" He tried to play it off like he wasn't worried that his one chance at happiness was slipping down the drain. Play it cool, he thought. He wasn't very good at playing it cool.

"Well," She reconsidered. "Maybe not _in love_ being that I don't know enough about him yet but I really like him." She paused, realizing that she'd gone a little deeper than normal. "Not that that's any of your business anyways."

"Well, I'd be honored to meet him." He needed to change the subject, and fast. He didn't know why he was playing into her hands so easily. He needed a way out. He needed a way to make his heart stop hurting the way it did.

"Like I'm going to let you anywhere near him. You'd probably embarrass me to death with your awful jokes." She laughed again, seeming to be perfectly fine with tearing down Prince's self esteem with her own two hands. Then again, maybe she didn't know how far rooted his feeling for her were.

"Come on," He said, hoping to sound like he wasn't internally dying. He was strong. He was ThePrince. He shouldn't care about what a girl thinks about him. He had many admirers. "I'm not that bad."

"Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't ditched you yet."

 _That_ hit him hard. He'd heard it before today, heard the exact same sentence hours before hand, only, he couldn't remember who had told him this. The day seemed to blur together, forming one giant ball of suck. This patrol was supposed to make him feel better, not drive him further towards despair.

TheMechanicmust have noticed his change in attitude because she quickly changed her tone and grabbed his arm. "I'm kidding, Prince." She looked dead into his eyes, her warm chocolate eyes burning holes into his. "I need you. You are just as important to this town as I am. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably be wondering the streets, forever searching for your lost partner in crime." He said, picking his broken pieces back up and turning on the fake perfection he wore as Kai. There really was no escaping what was underneath the skin. Even with a mask as powerful as his.

 **FIFTEEN MINUTES EARLIER**

TheMechanichad suggested they perch atop the roofs of the nearby apartment complex for patrol, giving them a nice view of the city and a place to rest their tired feet.

"How'd you know about this place?" Prince asked once they were seated, stars tickling at their necks as they watched the city sparkle with life.

"It's pretty close to my hou-" She stopped herself, realizing that she'd almost revealed where she lived. Both her and Prince were very serious about keeping their identities a secret from the public, which meant keeping the lives behind the mask quiet from each other also. TheMechanicwas a little more strict about it than Prince was but he respected her wishes to keep her identity a secret so he never pressed the issue much.

Prince looked out into the city, realizing they were very close to his school. The school that he might be taken away from. The school where he'd made his first true friend. The school in which TheMechanicmight attend.

It was very unlikely, being that New Beijing was full of schools, that they attended that same small public one, but Prince felt that fate liked to tease him in ways that made his head spin. Having TheMechanicright under his nose 24/7 was definitely something that made his head spin.

Prince banished the thoughts from his mind, as they had started to make his head hurt, and crossed his legs in front of him, allowing himself one calm moment looking out onto the beautiful city below him.

The calm didn't last much longer.

 **NOW**

Prince ripped TheMechanic's eyes away from the man's falling body, shielding her vision from the final end to the man. He knew she was strong enough to handle death, she'd done it many times before, but he also knew that she was just as fragile as him sometimes.

She let out a painful sob against his chest as they heard the final thud that would mean the end of the man's life. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to remain calm but her emotions were betraying her and she fell back into a fit of tears.

Prince stroked her hair, attempting to calm his partner with his soothing whispers of tranquility. He dried her tears, both their breathes catching at how close to each other they were. He gently traced his finger against her cheek, ridding the tears from her red eyes. She seemed calmer now, like she was beginning to find peace in herself again.

"You did everything you could." He whispered after a while of sitting in silence.

"It wasn't enough," She sighed, not daring to lift her eyes from their target on the ground. "Twice,"

When she didn't elaborate Prince looked at her, wordlessly asking her to explain. She understood his question, as she always did, and continued to explain.

"I've let two lives go to waste in a month. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be TheMechanicanymore. Maybe I never was." She kept her gaze helplessly on the floor, her eyes mirroring how truly unsure of herself she was.

Prince could relate to the feeling of self doubt without question. In fact, he'd been asking himself the same questions ever since he'd been given the title. Life without the mask would be less complicated, there was no doubt about it. Life without the mask would be more carefree. But life without the mask would also mean a life of enslavement to his aunt. Prince didn't know what kind of life TheMechaniclived behind the mask, but he liked to imagine they were both in the same boat.

He couldn't tell her this of course, so instead, he went with the friendly approach.

"Don't say that. Of course you are cut out for this." It was the truth. Kai trusted no one with his life more than he did TheMechanic. "You've saved so many over your lifetime. You've saved lives of those who would have been lost forever if not. Without you, New Beijing would be in serious shit."

TheMechaniclaughed at his curse, being that he didn't make it a habit to use foul language unless completely necessary. TheMechanic, on the other hand, had no problem dropping an F-bomb here and there.

"Thank you, Prince. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He didn't miss a beat. "You'd be lost, as I said before."

TheMechanicsmiled and said, "Shut up! We'd better go sort this mess out down below."

Prince didn't miss the quick flash of terror that crossed her face as she peered over the edge and saw the man's dead body. He couldn't help but feeling sick himself. He had a feeling the face below would haunt him in The Nightmares tonight.

"Oof," Prince tripped over something. He soon realized that _something_ was TheMechanic's hand. She'd stopped dead in her tracks to pick up something small and thin that had been absent from Prince's mind since the man had fallen.

In TheMechanic's hands was a slip of paper, no bigger than a postcard, with four words written in bold ink. Under the words was a giant red _A_.

"I guess you could say this has Ameiry written all over it," Kai tried, receiving a glare from his partner seconds after the words had left his lips.

"No time for puns now," Was all she said before pulling her attention back towards the postcard, reading out the words written.

HE'S JUST THE FIRST

TheMechanicstared at the postcard in silence, stunned at how blunt the message was. Prince was worried, more than scared, that this string of murders would only be the beginning of a plan ten times more sinister.

"I have a _really_ bad feeling about this." He stated plainly, not bothering to cover his words up with false hope. They both knew how awful the before them situation was.

"Me too," She replied, glancing down at her belt before letting out a string of colorful curses. "My glamour's almost up. I won't be able to stay for long."

She crumpled the note up and pushed it into Prince's hands. "Keep it safe. I'll see you soon." And just like that, she'd disappeared into the dark night, leaving Prince with more than one crisis in his hands.

He heaved a heavy sigh and stuck the note in his pocket, starting to make his way home, preparing himself for The Nightmares that would haunt him during the night. Preparing himself for the wrath of his aunt once she figured out what he'd done.

It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

_**haha sorry for the absence...heres some updating**_

The Mechanic stared at the chaotic mess in front of her, trying to pick her civilian self's best friend out of the mob of people beginning to crowd around the spectacle Amiery was creating.

"What's going on?" The Mechanic felt someone grab onto her hand, stopping her from continuing on into the mess of people.

The woman who'd caught The Mechanic's attention was old and frail, maybe in her late 70s if not early 80s. She wore glasses that nearly covered her whole face, distorting her obvious fear as all the power in the city began to slowly fade away, leaving them both in almost pitch black dark.

"I'm about to figure out." Hoping her answer left the little old lady feeling a bit safer as she removed herself and ventured back into the swarm of people.

The city, quickly losing all it's life as The Hacker fiddled with the control boards, seemed much larger to The Mechanic now that she was left all by herself without The Prince's help.

 _Where is he?_ She thought, looking up and down the packed streets in vain. His suit was as black as the night sky, just as hers was, they would both blend seamlessly into the night sky. The perfect camouflage that was overly unnecessary.

Screams of panic filled The Mechanic's ears and she heard the people behind her scurry out of the way to make room for whatever was about to land. She turned around, weapon in hand, prepared to face whatever was about to try and compromise her.

Instead, she was met with a flashy, all white, toothy smile and boy who seemed overly excited to be where he was. The Prince.

"Miss me?" He asked, arching his eyebrow and causing his golden crown to tilt ever so slightly. The Mechanic knew he could control how his costume looked at all times, so the tilt was purposeful. It was the tiniest bit endearing.

Finally remembering the small, child's hand she was sporting today, she self consciously tucked it behind her back they way she'd done with her prosthetics since she'd been given them. Always so shameful.

Another scream made her come crashing down from her momentary distraction. Now, feeling stupid for being ashamed of her hand, she let it hand freely at her side. It wasn't as if she was trying to impress anyone. _Especially_ not The Prince.

"How'd you see me?" She wondered aloud, "My suit blends into the sky."

"A prince always knows where his princess is." Prince responded, eyeing her with a teasing look. She tried to control the flaming red burning in her cheeks.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked, trying to return her train of thought to the task at hand and not her emotions playing tricks in her head again.

Prince shook his head. "Not particularly. I only saw what was on the news."

The Mechanic swore. How could they fight someone powerful enough to take out the electricity of the entire city of New Beijing without a clue as to what the motivation was. How could she fight her best friend?

 _No_ , she reminded herself, _This isn't Cress. Cress has been lost. We're dealing with The Hacker. I'm going to kill The Hacker. I'm going to get back my best friend._

That, of course, was much easier said than done.

"Well then," The Mechanic said, pulling out her grappling hook. "Let's go find out."

The Mechanic didn't realize how difficult it would be to use her grappling hook with her new child sized hand. What an inconvenience the piece of metal was. Why, today of all days, had she had to go in for a replacement? Why, today of all days, had the only available spare been an her old one from when she was 12?

She contemplated throwing the entire thing away, leaving it on the side of the road to retrieve later, and fight the upcoming battle single handed.

Before she could make a decision, she was met with the giant glass doors of an office building. Cress was up there. Cress, her best friend for all the years that truly counted as years well spent, was up there. She was going to save her.

"Cress?" Prince's voice echoed through the building as he came up behind her, sweat dripping from his pores.

The Mechanic's blood turned cold. "How did you know Cress?"

The Prince's eyes widened. "How do _you_ know Cress?"

She turned around, unable to answer the question without revealing a very important piece of her identity. If he knew that she attended school with Cress…well, things could get very messy.

"You go to her school don't you?" Prince asked, following The Mechanic as she made her way up the miles of stairs. She took them two at a time, hoping to outrun her partner but his long legs gained on her, pressing more question. "I can't believe it! What period do you have first? I wonder if we have gym?"

The Mechanic spun on him, cutting him off completely. She would have stepped on his toes had he not stepped back in fear as her eyes became cold and stern.

"Now is not the time to be discussing whether or not we have gym together! We have to save Cress." She looked up at the balcony hanging over the business front, hearing footsteps.

"You're right," Prince agreed. "Looks like we'll be discussing this later."

Before The Mechanic could protest, Cress's voice sounded from the top of the balcony.

"I was beginning to worry you two had gotten _distracted_." Cress said, spitting out the final word as if she knew something The Mechanic didn't.

"Cress," Prince said, stepping forward so his voice could be heard loud and clear. "This isn't you. Ameiry is tricking you. _Please_. Turn back on the power."

Cress's face shriveled up. "Who's Ameiry? I'm doing this for _Amaster1234_ , my true love."

The Mechanic cringed, realizing how deeply rooted this problem was.

"Cress, that _is_ Ameiry. Don't you see? He's tricked you!" The Mechanic was pleading now, ready to grovel on her hands and knees. "Please, Cress."

The blond looked down at the pair from where she stood, her eyes were still stone cold. "Cress is dead. The Hacker lives in her place."

 **TWO DAYS EARLIER**

"I don't understand," Cinder said, fiddling with a piece of Cress's mattress. Her room was small but not suffocating, spreading a homey feel whenever Cinder stepped into the room. "I thought you and Thorne's date went well."

What she didn't say was that she was surprised Cress had moved on so quickly after pining over Thorne for the past two years.

"It did," Cress responded, passing her computer to Cinder so she could read the IM messages Cress has been sending to her new crush who Cinder had yet to figure out the name of. "But Thorne never pays any attention to me and _Amaster1234_ cares about me. He asks me how I'm doing and all that stuff. It feels nice to be wanted."

Cinder tried not to feel a little betrayed as her friend continued explaining her new connection with the stranger she'd met on the internet. Cinder wanted Cress. Cinder cared for her friend. Was she not enough?

"Yeah," Cinder said, trying not to let her emotions control the conversation. They'd been doing that a lot lately. "But do you really know anything about him?"

Cress looked hurt, as if Cinder questioning her friends judgement was the worst offense in history.

"Of course," She retorted, huffing out her chest as she continued to list countless things about her new love.

Cinder sighed, a little disappointed that Cress had given up right when things had started to go her way.

"Don't give up on Thorne, okay?" Cinder said, closing the computer so they could have a conversation without the thing beeping 24/7.

Cress smiled, as if taking pity on Cinder's naiveity. "I promise. Now, help me find something to wear to my date."

Cinder almost choked.

"Date?"

Cress laughed. "Yes, a date. He asked me out. Said he take me out tomorrow night at six."

"And you agreed?" Cinder was aghast. Normally, Cress was quite shy and kept to herself. This was a brand new side of Cress that Cinder wasn't sure she enjoyed very much.

"Why wouldn't I?" Cress turned towards her closet. "Stars, Cinder. You don't have to be so negative. Something good is finally happening in my life and all you do is shoot it down. What a friend you are." Cress looked hurt and Cinder knew, deep down, that she should be happy for Cress. She would be an awful friend if she wasn't. And even if she didn't like Cress's new boyfriend, Cress didn't need to know that.

Cinder gave her friend a sincere, apologetic look. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should be happy for you. I am." She pointed towards the closest. "Show me what you've got."

Cress squealed.

"I knew you'd come around." She fumbled through at least seven outfits before yanking one from the hanger and letting in rest over her body. It was a short, black dress with an intake at the waist and a small, silver belt at the hips. Cinder frowned.

"You're Mechanic cosplay? You're going to wear _that_ on your date?" Cinder didn't mention that is was also extremely weird for her best friend to dress up as her for any occasion.

"Well, I had my doubts at first as well, but then I was thinking about how we met and that we both _love_ The Mechanic and how it's the first thing we bonded over and I realized it was perfect!" Cress twirled, letting the dress spin itself in her hands. "And you have to admit, I look pretty hot in this dress."

Cinder laughed. "I guess you're right."

Cress's eyes widened with fear. "Shoes! Ah, aces. I need to find a nice pair of heels. Help me look."

Cinder groaned. Looking through Cress's gigantic collection of heels was a headache Cinder didn't want to bring onto herself today but when she looked at Cress's face, juvenile hope displayed perfectly across, how could she say no?

"The things I do for you," She mumbled as she got to her knees to begin sifting.

"You know I love you," Cress responded, patting Cinder's head. "You're the best friend anyone could ever wish for."

"Speaking of which," Cinder said as she held of a pair of heels worthy of Cress's approval. She shook her head and Cinder returned to the pile. "You won't forget about me now that you have a perfect boyfriend to hang out with all the time, will you?"

Cress laughed, as if the thought was completely absurd. "Cinder, I couldn't get rid of you if I tried."

Cinder attempted to smile but the lingering self doubt clouded her head. "Just be careful. I don't want you, or anyone else, to get hurt."

"Oh, Cinder," Cress sighed. "You have _nothing_ to worry about."

"That's what they all say."

She held up a pair of black heels, one of Cress's favorites. Cinder's best friend took them up immedianly and hugged her, cutting off the circulation in Cinder's chest.

"They're perfect."

"So," Cinder prompted, as her and Cress lay of their backs, facing the ceiling of the room. "What do I need to know about your mystery man?"

"Oh, Cinder," Cress crooned, launching into a lengthy spiel about how wonderful her new date was going to be. Cinder let herself smile, happy for her friends newfound excitement, and began to close her eyes, letting Cress's cheery voice lull her to sleep.

 **ONE HOUR EARLIER**

The cool ground nipped at Cinder's fleshed arm as she clumsily made her way up the giant steps of New Beijing's medical center. Her boots seemed to click on the tile floor, which surprised Cinder being that the boots were years old and tearing at the seams.

Peering down the right and left hallways, just to be 100% positive of where the prosthetist/orthotist office was, before choosing the left passage. Her mind racked as she made her way past the many other offices that housed other important jobs.

She always felt this way whenever a check-up was needed. She always feared that the price would be too expensive for her step-family to pay and they'd kick her out onto the side of the road like they'd promised to do so many times before. Not that that would be so bad.

She quickly pulled out her phone, in need of a handy distraction so she wouldn't have to walk down the rest of the never ending hall without her safety object in hand. Notifications blew up her phone, causing her to scroll for a good minute before she reached the bottom. All from Cress, of course. It wasn't like she had many other friends.

Cress had been sending her updates from her online date with _Amaster1234_ since twelve. It was now four and Cinder was much less enthusiastic about the emoticons she was receiving now that her data was being sacrificed.

She was about to send back an encouraging _Hope the date's going well_ text but the door that slammed into her face seemed to think otherwise.

"Ugnnnh." She moaned, realizing she'd fallen flat on her butt, her phone also sprawled across the floor. Her tailbone ached, something that would not come in handy on patrols that night, and as she reached behind her to rub it, a voice sounded from the other side.

"Are you alright?" The voice seemed panicked and nervous, like they were actually genuinely scared that Cinder had been hurt. Kai's face appeared behind the door, his shaggy black hair was gracefully pulled out of his face as his eyes widened with horror at what was in front of him.

Cinder's eyes also grew wide in horror, but for a completely different reason. Kai, the most eligible guy in all of New Beijing, had just knocked her on her ass and here she was rubbing it.

Kai got onto his knees before Cinder could even begin to think about standing up. He retrieved her phone, checking to make sure it wasn't cracked before handing it back to her, and helped her stand up.

Another grunt of pain escaped Cinder's lips and she recoiled from the sound of it. Kai looked at her with a hint of confusion before continuing to ask her if she was alright.

"I'm so sorry," He said, straightening himself once they were walking back down the hall. Cinder wasn't sure why he was still in her company but she sure as hell wasn't going to so anything of it. "I should've paid more attention as to where I was."

Cinder's hands fidgeted nervously at her side. She tried to crack them, a habit she'd picked up from Cress over the years, but her bones were not complying today. What could she say back to him? _No, no. It was totally okay. In fact, getting hit by your door will probably be the highlight of my day._

No, she couldn't say that because, as true as the statement was, it sounded pathetic and made her seem like a creep who waited around to get hit by hot guys with doors.

Instead she said, "No," But it was too aggressive and made her sound like she wanted to strangle the air. Trying to gain composure of herself, she attempted another go.

"No, it's not your fault. How could you hear me all the way from the other side of the door?" _Better_ , she thought. _That sounded much better._

"I suppose you're right. But I do feel really bad. Are you sure you're okay?" He touched her shoulder, a gesture that, in any other context, would have made Cinder's knees go weak and her heart feel like jelly, but with the throbbing pain still coming from her tailbone, it felt more like a passive shove.

She smiled. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Just like you." Her cheeks grew hot and Cinder was positive that if she could blush, she would be every shade of red the world had to offer. Had she really just called him fine? Had she really just let another embarrassing comment slip from her mouth in front of him? Stars, it was like she had no control when he was around her.

She ducked her head, grateful that she saw the waiting room up ahead. She sped up her pace, hoping to get there as fast as possible and avoiding another awkward conversation with Kai.

"Whoah," Kai said, pulling Cinder back by her metal hand. Blood drained from her already lifeless body as she prepared for Kai to realize which hand he'd touched and jerk away in disgust. Only, he didn't. He held onto the hand until she turned around and faced him fully.

"I feel like such a jack-ass. I didn't even ask you why you're here." He gave her an apologetic look, one that could melt the icecaps and warm even Adri's heart with his copper brown eyes. "So, um, why are you here?"

An awkward silence set in the moments Cinder was trying to decide whether or not she wanted to lie about where she was going. It was no secret that she had prosthesis but it was another thing to flaunt them like they were the next best accessory.

"Oh, yeah, um…" In the end, she decided it couldn't hurt to tell the truth. At least she wasn't getting caught up in another lie. "I'm actually going in to get my hand looked at." She gestured to the old metal limb she'd had to all of her teenage years. It was rusted at the tips from showers and swimming sessions with Cress and has drops of paint from the times when Peony had-

She stopped herself. Nothing could be worse than getting emotional in front of Kai.

Kai's eyes lit up with intrigue. At least, that's what Cinder thought it was. Then again, she wasn't around people enough to really tell what certain expressions meant.

"That's so cool," He said, then thought twice and let his face return back to it's apologetic glow. "Not that you had to get a metal hand, that must have been awful, but I think the whole cybernetics thing is _really_ cool. Can you do anything special with it?"

Cinder looked down at her foot, mortified at what she was about to show him. "Actually," She said, lifting up her pant leg to reveal her other metal prosthetic. "I have a hollow compartment right here," She pointed to the latch that would open up and spill whatever she'd been hiding in it. "I use it to store tools when I'm on the go for a job."

She still couldn't wrap her head around how she'd somehow ended up showing the hottest boy in school her hollow compartment in her metal leg. She would definitely be Vid-comming Cress tonight.

"That is very interesting," Was Kai's only comment before standing up straight again and patting her on the back, a friendly gesture that made Cinder's heart flutter at the touch. "Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time." He gave her a small wave. "Sorry about the door! See you at school and thanks for the, er, compliment?" He turned around and Cinder buried her face into her hands, mortification covering her entire body.

Could today get any more stressful?

Yes. Yes it could.

 **THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE**

Cinder emerged from the immaculate doctors office with her new hand tucked safely inside her jacket pocket. Her wires were growing restless as she racked her brain for a possible scenarios in which she could fight crime with the new, child-size hand she'd been given. Every scene that played perfectly in her brain ended up with her dropping something that was too big for the tiny hunk of metal and risking everyone's life in the process.

The doctor, an old man who went by the name of Dr. Erland, had told her that this was the only possible replacement for the hand while her regular sized one was getting adjustments and touch ups. Cinder, at the time, had looked blankly at it, expecting there to be some giant reveal that this was all a joke and that Cinder could take her original hand home that day. When she'd voiced her thoughts the doctor had simply looked at her with enough pity to fill a swimming pool.

So Cinder would be stuck with an eight year olds hand for a week. What problems would _Cinder_ face? She didn't have any cities to watch over or people to save. The Mechanic, however, did have that responsibility. Not to mention, if someone was paying close enough attention, they might be able to spot the similarities between Cinder and The Mechanic's new limbs. And _that_ was something that could never happen.

Cinder, of course, couldn't tell Dr. Erland this. So when he'd asked her if she was alright with the temporary change, Cinder had smiled as politely as she could and nodded her head, praying that the doctor wouldn't see the dread in her eyes as she did.

This left Cinder here, walking down the office building hallway, again. This time, however, she was fully aware of how alone she was. Taking a risk, she peered down in the small bag she kept with her and revealed Iko peacefully sleeping next to a bottle of Advil.

"Iko…" Cinder whispered, trying not to draw any attention to herself. There was no telling how many strange looks she would get for communicating with a purse.

"Hmm?" The little android answered, still seeming to be in her daze of sleep.

"We have a bit of an issue," Cinder said, sticking her new limb deep into the purse so Iko could see. Cinder groaned when Iko made an audible gasp, confirming her fear of how awful the situation was.

"Oh dear," Iko said, pulling the metal closer to her so she could fully examine it. "The plating hardly matches the plating in your foot. What are we going to do?"

Cinder rolled her eyes, a little amused at how off topic her friend could get when fashion and color was involved. Cinder, on the other hand, could not care one bit about how to two metals clashed.

"Um, Iko," Cinder warned, causing the androids attention to focus back in on her. "What about the fact that it will make it a thousand times harder to fight with this tiny thing."

Iko scoffed, a tiny squeaky sound that made Cinder's ears hurt if she volume was too loud. "Come on," Iko said, pushing the hunk of metal away from her. "You're The Mechanic for stars sake! You can do anything."

"In the comfort of my own limbs." Cinder corrected, making sure to emphasize the fact of how uncomfortable she was. Iko did not seem to care.

"Cinder, you're being dramatic." Iko chided, look very displeased towards Cinder. It made her tiny, robotic face look more human.

"Can't you just glamour my hand during battles?" Cinder asked, eyes full of hope even though she knew the rules of glamour and how far the ability to trick someone's mind stretched.

"Well," Iko said, thinking about the problem at hand with a little more seriousness. "I could make it look like you have a normal sized hand but you would still have the small hand under the glamour so it won't do much good."

Cinder groaned, throwing her head back just to go the extra mile and prove how fed up she was with these ugly situations she got herself into.

"Look, we'll talk about this later I need to-"

"Cinder?"

Kai's voiced bounced through the room, landing on walls and bookshelves until it landed right in Cinder's ear drum. She stuffed Iko back into the bag and smushed her hand under the sleeve of her jacket.

"Kai?" She asked, her voice cracking a bit as she did. "What are you still doing here?"

Kai smiled, showing a fresh new set of pearly whites. "Just got my teeth whitened. Gotta keep them clean if I'm gonna model."

"Right," Cinder said, swaying back in forth a little, utterly useless for anything other than staring into his eyes.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked, eyeing the bag that was slung over her shoulder now, probably crushing Iko in the midst.

"Uh…" She tried to come up with an answer that would make her sound interesting. _Oh you know, just talking to my friend from France. Heard the crops are great this time of the year._ But instead, pile of word vomit escaped. "I was just, you know, talking to my step-mother. Gotta clean those dishes if I wanna eat." She cringed, realizing what had just come out of her mouth. "Not that she withholds food from me, she doesn't. Just that I gotta do my part to earn my keep. We have a system. It's totally cool."

Kai looked at her with concerned eyes while his shoulders relaxed and he let out a genuine laugh.

"Well, I'd better let you go. Nice talking to you." Kai shifted, starting to move and before Cinder could stop herself, she flung her hands out into his chest.

"Wait!" She cried, retracting her hands from his chest. "I- um…wanted to get your opinion on something." Cinder's knees quivered as she tried to regain control over the situation. Her brain was reaching out in so many different directions she thought she might combust right there in front of Kai.

Kai's eyes narrowed, a devious smile playing out on his lips. "Yes?" He straightened his back, running a hand through his hair before returning them to his pocket.

Cinder was about to answer, most likely with an awful response that would haunt her for the rest of the day, when all the post screens in the room flashed bright red and blue.

" _INCOMING MESSAGE."_ The ports read. An old man with giant glasses stood in the port, staring at what Cinder felt was directly at her.

" _The entire city has been put on high alert. We ask you not to leave your home for the next 24 hours until further notice. Also, we ask you to stay off the internet being that the crime has been born from a popular dating service. Please stay safe. Thank you."_

The port screens all flashed red and blue once again before returning to their original forms of black and grey.

Dread spread through Cinder's body like cold water flowing through her veins. She had a very bad feeling that she knew exactly who was behind this problem.

"I- um- I gotta go." She managed to get out to a dazed looking Kai. When he heard her words, he snapped back into focus.

"Oh, um, me too. I gotta transform—I mean!" He stuttered, looking completely lost. "I gotta transform this last pay check into actual cash." He let out an emotionless laugh and ran from the hall, reaching into his pocket for something.

Normally, this might have bothered Cinder. But normally, she wasn't almost positive her best friend was in serious trouble.

"Iko," She whispered into her bag. "Let's go save Cress."

The little android had no time to respond before her magic was used to meld a perfect black across Cinder's face. Then, she ran.

 **NOW**

The Mechanic stared straight into the hard eyes of The Hacker. Where Cress's bob had been adorable, The Hacker's hair was laced with some type of gel the made the tips look as sharp as daggers. The Mechanic didn't want to get close enough to figure out if they really were.

"I refuse to believe that Cress is no longer," The Mechanic called up towards where The Hacker sat. The Prince was right next to The Mechanic, breathing so heavily she could feel the warmth of his breath on her back. She squired.

"Believe it, you puny little girl." The Hacker responded, earning a laugh from The Prince. The Mechanic spun around.

"What was so funny?" She asked, clearly annoyed that The Prince had picked this moment in time to find humor in this mission.

"Well," Prince said, picking at his boomerang with his hands. "She called you puny but you're a _least_ a foot taller than her. It's incorrect and quite humorous."

The Mechanic groaned, shooting Prince a quick, threatening look before returning her attention to The Hacker, who she'd already completely separated from Cress in her mind.

When she turn, however, The Hacker was gone.

"Stars, Prince!" She chastised, pulling out her grappling hook from her belt. She shot the hook at the nearest column on the giant area. "Try and keep up."

She flew through the air, positioning herself so she'd land effortlessly on her feet by the time she landed. She got a quick glance at the ground below her where Prince was racing up the stairs at just as quick a pace as her.

Landing with a thump, The Mechanic adjusted herself to the new surroundings. She gulped a few quick breaths of air before Prince showed up right next to her, barely even panting.

"She went in there. Let's go," He called, beginning to cross in front of her in order to get closer to the door he'd addressed.

"No," The Mechanic advised, pulling him back by his boomerang. "Let me go in alone. I'll deal with her. You, go find Amiery. This reeks of his work."

Prince furrowed his eyebrows, eyes filled with pent up aggression. He threw his hands up into the air in exasperation.

"There is no way in the stars I'm letting you take her on by yourself. She'll destroy you!" Concern painted every inch of his face, making him look a thousand years older. She remembered the expression vaguely.

She huffed. "Wow, thanks for the spectacular moral support."

Prince sighed and shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It's not like that, you know. I just, I care way too much about you to see you throw away all your sense like this."

The Mechanic was touched by the sincerity in his voice, pausing for a minute and contemplating whether or not she was really going to do this.

"You have to believe in me."

She walked into the next room alone.

The room was cold and crisp, the contrast from the sweaty room The Mechanic had just come from made her skin shrivel up on her wrists. She willed her nerves to steady for now was not the time to become afraid. So what if she was alone, without The Prince, and terrified that she would have to end her best friends life? She was The Mechanic. She would save the day.

"Would you hurry up?" The words bounced through the room with agitation etched into them, colliding with furniture until the sound collided with The Mechanic's ear drum. "I've been waiting for half and hour listening to you and that sorry excuse of a hero get all lovey and emotional."

The Hacker was still concealed in the dark while The Mechanic wrapped her hands around her stomach, willing herself to remain poised. She felt stupid as warmth spread to the tips of her skin. She would not become embarrassed. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, trying to change the subject to something that made her insides feel less like jello.

"I'm simply filling an order for someone else," The Hacker answered, finally coming forth from the shadows, a carving knife in her right hand.

"Ameiry? Cress, he cares nothing about you," The Mechanic pleaded, willing the girl in front of her to understand that the only true thing about this man was that he was pure evil.

"DO NOT call me that!" The Hacker screeched, throwing her hands, along with the knife, in the air and almost cutting herself. "Cress is dead. A waste of time, she was. Too timid. She never took action. I intend to do just that. Starting with you."

"Wait!" The Mechanic yelled, throwing herself high into the air to avoid the attack that was launched her way. The knife flew below her feet with poor aim. Landing gracefully, The Mechanic picked the tool back up, feeling it in her scrapped palms.

"There is another way. Cress," She addressed The Hacker by her original name once more, hoping it would remind her of who she truly was. "Stop. Go home and be safe. This isn't about you. Amiery is just using you. Once he has what he wants, you'll be forgotten."

The Hacker gave a sickening laugh, an uneasy one that made The Mechanic cringe. "You are _just_ like Cinder!" She stepped towards The Mechanic, eyes full of craze. "She has always wanted me to be on the side lines. Now, it's finally my turn and you want to take this away from me now?"

The Mechanic's insides began to feel queasy again. The part inside of her that was still a normal teenage girl begged to speak to Cress and explain why she'd been acting the way she had. The hero inside of her knew it would be pointless to try.

"In fact," The Hacker mused, drawing closer to The Mechanic with each passing second. "You remind me of her."

If there had been any color in The Mechanic's face, all had been washed away by fear now. There was no way The Hacker could identify who she was under the mask.

The Mechanic was about to try and convince her of just that when The Hacker continued.

"You are just as selfish as her!" The Hacker stormed up the steps of the giant floor, throwing herself to the closest window. Throwing the window open, she stepped on the out frame.

"Soon, everyone will realize who I truly am. They will realize when _I_ am the one to return the power to their lifeless city. They will realize when they come to find that their two beloved heroes couldn't save them this time. They will all realize."

She might have said more, she might have even given The Mechanic a chance to reason with her once again. Before she could do either, however, her foot slipped on the pane of the window and The Hacker plummeted towards the ground.

The Mechanic rushed forward, forgetting everything but the screaming girl on her way to death, and clung to the window seal. She watched numbly as The Hacker's glamour was released and Cress Darnel fell freely towards the ground.


End file.
